Staat und Familie – Formen des lutherischen Amtsverständnisses in evangelischen Kirchenordnungen des 16. Jahrhunderts

Abstract

The evangelical church orders of the sixteenth century express two ideas about the order of the world. One is based on the assumption that, within the framework of the divine order of creation, each person is placed in his or her respective area of life to contribute to the establishment of the Kingdom of God – irrespective of the social hierarchy. While this order is based on biblical principles and appears as an overarching model, the second idea of order is based on the creation of an evangelical community within the early modern social hierarchy. Princes and magistrates as the highest political officeholders in a territory or a city are juxtaposed with housefathers and housemothers as heads of families, the smallest social units. Both regiments – princely and urban authorities as well as heads of households – do not only have to fulfil the same Christian and moral duties, but they are also responsible for the creation and preservation of evangelical society and thus for the unity of the Christian and the political community.